A new challenger has arrived, and just like the first entry in this year’s Street Fighter 6 battle pass, it’s a familiar face. But while C. Viper (Michelle Ruff, Resident Evil: Degeneration) may not have the legacy in the game that Sagat does, she looks to make just as big a splash with her intricate combos, which demand coordination and quick thinking.
The core of Viper’s gameplay revolves around cancels and feints. Many of her special moves can be fiented out of, creating a difficult situation for enemies as they try to react to what Viper is doing. Is the rush attack coming, or is it a feint? If you jump and it’s a feint, an uppercut will soon be following, leading to even more pain.
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The timing on the feint is precise, making it a challenge to execute. Furthermore, knowing whether to feint or not requires a knowledge of your opponents’ abilities and how they are most likely to respond to your perceived threat. A level of quick thinking and mastery will take time to learn, and that goes for her special high jump as much as her feint.
By pressing down immediately before up, the player can launch Viper into the air like no other character in the game. This jump consumes a bar of the drive gauge, making it a costly maneuver at times. While the mobility is nice, what makes the jump worth the expense is that any attack can be canceled into a high jump. Conversely, you can then cancel Viper’s high jump into many attacks, allowing strings of combos that aren’t normally possible to come together. If you have the skill and resources to pull it off.
C. Viper’s Thunder Dash is a main core of her combos.
The way Viper can burn through her drive gauge promises to make her a true feast or famine character. The creativity she allows grants her a ceiling for her combos that other characters wish for. However, failing to land attacks that are burning up the drive gauge promise to feel even worse than purely wiffing normally does.
The core components of Viper’s potential combos lie in her special attacks, the first of which is her Thunder Dash. When used with light or medium attack, Thunder Dash moves forward, as Viper swings with an electrically charged punch. When used with heavy attack, it becomes an uppercut that is invincible to aerial attacks, making this her go-to anti-air maneuver.
Thunder Dash can be followed up by two other options. The first is Tracer Combination. This second punch pops the opponent up in the air, leaving them open to follow-up attacks. Also, Thunder Dash can be fiented out of if input quickly after entering Dash’s input.
Between the split primary effects and the choices to follow up or feint, Thunder Dash provides a ton of utility and threat. It is important to note that the uppercut performed by the heavy version is very punishable on block, so don’t get over-eager with the shocking move.
Viper’s next special is Burning Kick. An attack that launches her forward, laying an arc of fire in front of her. The strength of the attack used determines how far Viper will fly, so a sharp eye is best when utilizing this technique.
Burning Kick can be followed up by a pair of attacks. The first is Knuckled Pursuit. This punch slams the opponent down into the ground, leaving them sprawled at Viper’s feet. The other is Double Burn. This follow-up kick’s biggest property is its timing. The attack is plus frames on block, making it an incredibly safe move to use, saving you if the initial attack was read and blocked.
Burning Kick can also be launched from mid-air. When doing so, the strength of the attack determines the angle of descent. Light attack causes Viper to drop straight down, while Heavy will push her forward. So, triggering the attack while directly over the opponent can leave them guessing as to whether or not you will fall in front of them or go for a mix-up.
Seismic Hammer is a versatile special.
While being able to use the move in mid-air gives it versatility, it is important to note a couple of restrictions. It can only be triggered from a neutral or forward jump, so you can’t cover a retreat with a flaming kick. Also, the follow-up attacks are not available during the airborne version.
The third special is the iconic Seismic Hammer. Slamming her fist down, Viper creates an upward shock in front of her. The distance the shock appears from her is determined by the strength of the attack used. While this is a common feature, it is more impactful with Hammer, since it only affects a single spot. Other moves like Burning Kick propel you forward, so you can hedge your bets by going heavier than you might need when determining range.
You can follow up Siesmic Hammer with a Feint, allowing you to cut the animation short to keep your opponent guessing. Siesmic Hammer can also be canceled out of, but only by doing a high jump cancel. It’s tricky to pull off, but it can be easy to take advantage of an opponent preparing for the low attack if you can do it. And as previously mentioned, mind your drive gauge when doing so.
Limit Deoucpler is Viper’s most noteworthy super art.
The final special in C. Viper’s kit is Focus Force. The move creates a barrier in front of Viper. If the attack button is held, Viper will maintain the barrier for a short window. When the barrier is struck, the button is released, or its duration expires, Viper launches into a forward kick.
This is possibly the most rewarding element of her kit. Being able to snap a barrier up and instantly counterattack a foe feels great. And your opponent has to attack, so the opportunity to utilize this powerful move will show up. A special well worth mastering.
Of her three super arts, Limit Deoucpler is the noteworthy one. While the other two simply inflict cinematic damage on your foe, Decoupler has a special element to it. After landing an upwards strike, Viper has a short window where she can High Jump or use special attacks without consuming drive gauge. This lets her open up a bit, without consuming the in-demand resource.
While her specials and supers are core to what she does, Viper has other strong elements in her toolbox. Her medium kicks provide strong reach, allowing her a solid presence in the poke game, and her heavy kick is excellent against airborne enemies, making it a solid option if you don’t have time to unleash her uppercut. Her drive rush is also notably strong, as it has virtually no wind-up, giving opponents little to no window to counter with one of their own.
C. Viper is challenging to play with in modern controls.
If you are playing Street Fighter 6 with modern controls for simplicity’s sake, this character will be a challenge for obvious reasons. Her fients, cancels, and follow-ups make her what she is, and there is no way to simplify that function. However, if you’ve been looking for a reason to take the next step into the deep end of fighting games, Viper rewards you heavily for your efforts.
The biggest shortcoming of playing the fighter with this control scheme is the loss of the nuance of her kit. Thunder Dash can only be used in its heavy, uppercut form, taking away a powerful tool from her abilities. Also, Seismic Hammer is locked in a one range, greatly limiting its usefulness.
The one saving grace the character does bring to this control scheme is the choice to allow any attack button to be used to feint out of compatible abilities. This feels like the smoothest way to incorporate the critical element into this control type.
At first glance, C. Viper looks like she possesses a ton of promise, but it will take a lot of work to mine it all out of her move set. But if you are willing to put in the extra work, it seems like Capcom has made a character that will reward you handsomely for your efforts.
C. Viper is available standalone or as part of the Season 3 Pass for Street Fighter 6, which is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
